New ‘London’ airport on the way?

Hub would be seventh London area airport

The reopening of an airport in Kent could go some way, however small, in helping alleviate pressure on London’s airports, which currently number six.

Image PA

The new owners of Manston Airport, which was Kent’s International Airport, have revealed that they want to restart flights by 2022.

According to the BBC, Manston was bought by RiverOak Strategic Partners, and it now wants to open the hub again for “short-haul and cargo flights”.

"We bought it to turn it back into an airport and it means the development consent order process will continue," director Tony Freudmann said.

"The current plan is to have the airport reopened in the spring of 2022 for short-haul and cargo flights. We have shown that it is financially viable."

Manston Airport has been closed since May 2014, and its location had been slated for a new residential area.

Dutch flag carrier KLM had been flying to the airport.

Meanwhile, The Guardian reports British Airways will be fined more than £183 million (AU$330m) by the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) after last year’s data breach, which saw hackers steal the personal information of half a million airline customers.

The ICO said the cyberattack occurred due to “poor security arrangements” in place for private information.